LOGINMaya blinked through the pouring rain at the giant black cat that suddenly showed up out of nowhere. Her heart hammered hard in her chest, almost tripping from fear.“Uh, nice kitty?” she said softly.She was dead. Big dead. The panther opened his jaw wide, his golden eyes gleaming in the darkness. Yeah, dead. There’d be no coming out of that one for her.The rain poured harder. Thunder and lightning shook the earth and made her tremble. She glanced over her shoulder, but she could barely make out the path. Should she run for it?A loud growl sounded from the panther. Fuck this shit. She took off into the woods, running for dear life. Branches poked and prodded, slapping her arms and face as she went. She gasped, trying not to fall on her ass in the slippery mud, but it was almost impossible. Her foot slipped on a rock, and she went down. She landed on her back, the rain falling hard on her soaked body.The panther came around her. She stayed motionless, hoping he couldn’t see her if
Noah decided to pick up some flowers for Maya. She’d been quiet for the past few days, not even dancing in the living room while she cleaned like he was used to. Something was wrong, but when he asked, she said she was fine. Instead of bringing the flowers to her himself, he chose to have them delivered to her job. He strolled from the flower shop down the street when he noticed a car parked outside the building.The guy inside the car had on a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap, but Noah recognized him immediately. It was Maya’s ex, Bud. He marched up to the car to confront the guy. Bud saw him approaching and jumped out of the driver’s side with a bat in his hand.“You! It’s your fault she won’t come back to me,” Bud yelled.Noah stopped a few feet away from the car, shoving his hands in his pockets. “She doesn’t want you. Do you know the meaning of the word no?”“She wanted me,” Bud spat. “Until you came along, she had nothing better in her life than me. She would have married
Maya picked up her mail on her way out to work. She’d forgotten all about it, having spent her weekend wrapped up in Noah’s arms. As much as she didn’t like the idea of moving too fast, she couldn’t stop herself with him. She sat in the car for a few minutes before she had to go in to her office and went through the stack of mail.She tore at an envelope absently and pulled out a letter. Words had been cut out of a magazine to create a letter.Maya You are so beautiful. I wish you knew just how much I love seeing your face.There was no signature. She picked up her cell phone, fury dancing in her veins, and dialed Bud.“Maya, what a surprise.”“Stop it, Bud,” she snapped. “I told you there was not going to be anything else between us. Why do you continue sending me shit?”“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”She ground her teeth, gripping her cell phone with all her might. Thank god she didn’t have the strength of a shifter, or she might have broken it. “You moron! Your ret
Maya gulped. The vodka in her drink made her babble. She tended to talk too much when she was nervous orI tipsy. One drink definitely did it for her.“Thanks. Why did you come over?”He put her hand down gently, his finger grazing the pulse at her wrists, making her heart trip.“I just wanted to see you. I sensed you were back, and I wanted to talk.”She raised her brows in surprise. “Just talk?”A slow, hungry grin spread over his lips. “Just talk. Whatever happens from here on is your choice, beautiful. I don’t want you to ever feel like I’m pushing you into anything.”Well, fuck. She’d been counting on him pressuring her for more amazing sex. It’d definitely help get her over all the stressing about Bud and her family.“I...appreciate that.”Her cell phone buzzed. She glanced around, trying to find it. It was on the floor, not that she remembered how it got there. She picked it up and stared at the screen.I miss you. Come back to me.Taking a slow, deep breath, she pressed the s
Noah sat at his computer, his panther hungry for a sight of Maya.He’d give anything to touch her again. Fucking hell, he had problems. He’d been with her one night, and she’d crawled under his skin, pushing emotions he tried never to deal with to the surface.His gaze strayed to her shades. She still wasn’t home. He needed to focus on his work and stop staring at her apartment like a love-struck idiot.The light in her apartment turned on and objects went flying. He shot to his feet, wondering what could have upset her to the point she was throwing things. He shouldn’t feel so tempted to go calm her, but the panther urged him to go to her, to make it all better.Before he had a chance to rethink things, he was knocking at her door. He heard her growl, and she jerked the door open.She blinked, huffing and puffing out angry breaths, her face flushed with color. “Hi.”“Are you okay?”“Yes.” She pasted a smile on her lips that didn’t reach her eyes. “I thought you had work to do?”He
Maya drove her car up a dirt road she knew all too well. Her family lived in a large lot spread over several acres. After her father died serving the country, her mother and sister had taken over the family farm and turned it into an organic vegetable production.She parked by the front of the main house and glanced down at her feet. Her mother, though running a farm and spending hours in dirt and grass, would have something to say about Maya’s lack of heels and makeup.The front door opened and her mother, Luisa, stepped out with a smile. As usual, Luisa had on a print dress any 1950s housewife would be proud of. Pressed to perfection, she looked ready for a house-and-garden photo shoot.“Maya, hija, how are you?” Luisa asked.“Hey, Mom. I’m good. What’s going on? I got your voicemail and couldn’t really understand it.” She marched up the driveway to the house.“I wanted to make sure you were available for dinner.”“Oh. Yes. It just sounded like there was something going on, but I c







